Gaara's Freaky Day
by kaotic312
Summary: Gaara makes a wish, so does Gary. The wish is granted. This may not be entirely a good thing. Freaky Friday redux. It's AU though I swore I'd never write an AU story. Aw well! Rated T for some language.
1. Careful What You Wish For

**I was talking with a friend and mentioned that I didn't really like AU fics. Then I wondered, if I were to write an AU fic, what would I do? This is the result of a strange and very random thought. There are NO Mary Sue's in this story. Hopefully, just a lot of fluffy fun.**

**Hope you like it. If you do, please review.** **If you don't, please review.**

**Oh yeah: Don't own even the smallest part of Naruto. Don't really want to either. Gaara though? Him I'd keep.**

o.o.o.o.o

Gaara didn't remember much of the journey, wrapped up as he was in a slew of emotions and feelings. Pain was foremost, but also a sense of wonder. He'd been defeated. By an idiot. Who by defeating him, proved he was _no_ idiot at all.

"Naruto." Gaara whispered as he stared up at the moon, his siblings anxiously watching him. The red-head wondered if they were more worried about his well-being, or his turning back into a monster? He just didn't know.

In fact, he didn't know them well at all. Kankuro and Temari. Gnats. Nuisances. Blood relatives. Relatives which he liked to make bleed, at least before today.

Gaara's hand wandered up to his forehead where he'd tattooed the word 'love'. It was a symbol that only he loved himself and that he was alone in the world. Now …he was no longer so sure.

"Naruto." He whispered into the night, the blond's name carried off on the wind.

o.o.o.o.o

"NARUTO?" Gary screamed, running one hand through his dark auburn hair. "Why in the world do we have to watch that crap?"

His mother ruffled his hair as she chuckled. "Your brothers and sister like it. Deal."

"But it's my house too!" Gary looked despairingly at his younger siblings. Dave and Mark were nine year old twins and Karen was his eleven year old nemesis. His eyes narrowed as his sister stuck out her tongue at him.

Dave looked up at their mother. "Mom! Make Gary shut up, we can't hear!"

Gary crossed his arms in a sullen pout. "Why can't I have a t.v. in my own room?" He muttered. "I'm thirteen now."

His father looked at him sternly. "Actually, it's not your house, it's mine and your mothers. And as for the rest, we've been over this, Gary. If we let you have your own television set, we'd never get you out of that room of yours."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." The boy continued his dark mutterings as he sat down to watch Naruto. "Hey! It's a re-run anyway!"

Karen kicked him while their parents weren't looking. "Shhh…. It's my favorite story. This is where Lee is fighting Gaara!"

"Gaara?" Gary looked over at them. "He's a wuss. Goes from evil to good from losing one lousy fight?"

"Gary!" His mother scolded him. "If you're going to act like that, you can go on to bed young man."

Gary stomped off in ill humor, throwing himself down on his bed. He didn't even bother to undress. "I'm not even tired!" He moaned to himself.

Unbidden, a picture of Gaara sprung to his mind. "I'll bet he'd never let parents stand in the way of anything he wanted. Or sisters and brothers either."

o.o.o.o.o

Gaara wasn't sleeping. Not that he couldn't for the normal reasons, that is, Shukaku. The demon had been quelled for the moment and was off licking his wounds. But the red-head still couldn't seem to sleep.

He looked over at his brother and sister as he hugged his knees to him. Family? Friends? What was it Naruto had said? You fight for those you love.

Yet Gaara knew the blond to have no family and few friends. How did he fight so strongly for so few? Why?

Gaara looked out at the night sky and wondered. How do you get people to love you? More important, was he even _capable_ of loving anyone?

"I wish …." He paused, looking up at a particularly bright star. "I wish my life was normal." Gaara paused again, was that too much to ask for? Probably, so he amended it. "I wish my life was normal for at least one day."

o.o.o.o.o

Gary got up off the bed and went to look outside his window, sighing. What would life be like if people actually did what he wanted? How fun would it be if HE had the power, and not his parents?

But Gary didn't know anyone like that. No one he knew lived a free existence like that. He chuckled to himself. "Well, except in anime."

He looked up at the sky and saw a particularly bright star. He felt silly as he spoke his wish aloud, but couldn't seem to help himself. "I wish …" Gary paused a moment, wondering exactly what he did wish for. "I wish my life was like an anime, just once."

o.o.o.o.o

The star blinked once, and reality reversed itself.

Neither boy remembered falling asleep that night. Both remembered waking up quite vividly.

o.o.o.o.o

"Gaara!" A male voice called to him, Gary groaned and rolled over.

A female voice came next, one Gary didn't recognize. "Maybe we shouldn't wake him up, we don't know what kind of mood he'll be in."

"Well, I'm not foolish enough to let him SLEEP." The male voice growled low.

Gary blinked his eyes open and groaned. He hurt. He hurt all over. "What? What happened?"

A teen-age boy leaned over him with the strangest hood on, it seemed to have cat ears or something. And he wore streaks of purple make-up in lines all over his face. Strangely, it looked somewhat familiar. "Good. You're awake."

A blond girl leaned over him next. "We need to get back to Suna. Are you up to traveling?"

"Suna?" Gary asked, sitting up abruptly and then grabbing his chest as his ribs protested the move. "Ooooooooowwww!"

The make-up dude waved a hand in front of Gary's eyes. "Suna. Home. Desert. Sand. You _like_ sand."

Gary watched, totally stunned, as the blond girl proceeded to whack the other boy over the head. The teen winced and rubbed his head as he picked himself up off the ground with a groan.

"Don't kill him, Gaara." The blond said uneasily, looking afraid. "He doesn't mean anything by it."

What was she afraid of? Gary looked back and forth between the two of them. Weird, the dude looked frightened too. And they were both looking right at …him.

"What in the world?" Gary said as he looked down at his body. Only it wasn't _his_ body. And what had they called him, Gaara? Wasn't that from his siblings favorite show?

The blond was looking at him strangely. "Maybe his fight with Naruto did more damage than we thought."

Gary blinked slowly. Gaara. Naruto. A wish ….. "I'm dreaming, that's it, I'm dreaming."

"Maybe I need to carry him again today." The make-up boy said, reaching for him.

Gary didn't want to be carried like a baby, his eyes narrowed and suddenly he felt a strange sensation as if something was _flowing_ out of him. He suddenly felt a bit dizzy, but still saw when the sand came up around him and shielded him from the boy reaching for him.

Both the boy and the girl leapt back instantly and suddenly wary. Both looked very unsure. About him. Gary smiled. "This could be cool."

o.o.o.o.o

Gaara woke up to a female screech in his ear. "GARY! Time for breakfast, Mom said so!"

"Wha????" He roared up, looking around him wide eyed. He'd fallen asleep? That couldn't be good. Shukaku would …would …would …wait? Where was the demon?

The red-head suddenly relaxed as he remembered his fight with Naruto. Shukaku wouldn't be bothering him for at least a week after _that_ fight. The demon had spent far to much chakra by manifesting, he would need time to recover.

What a weird dream though. The screeching female voice had sounded so rea…..

"GARY! GET YOUR BUTT IN GEAR!"

Gaara winced and looked toward the doorway to see a red-headed little girl with long pig tails sticking her tongue out at him.

Shocked, he just sat there. Number one, he was supposed to be in a forest on the way home to Suna, not in a bedroom. Number two, children ran screaming from him, not screaming AT him.

He sent his sand out to silence the brat, then nearly hyperventilated as nothing happened. No sand answered his call. Gaara looked around and didn't see his gourd anywhere. He jumped up and looked around frantically. Nothing.

"Nothing." He murmured as something odd occurred to him. He didn't hurt. Gaara ran his hands over his ribs, but nothing hurt. He should hurt. After that fight with Naruto he should still be hurting.

"Come on, Gary! Get a move on or we'll be late!" The girl said and ran down a hallway.

"Gary????" Gaara whispered. "Who is Gary?"

A woman came into the room then, catching his last whisper. "Why you are, son. Now head downstairs and grab some breakfast before the twins eat it all. And then hit the shower, you have a game early this afternoon."

Gaara watched as the woman put some clothing into a set of drawers and left the room. He followed her out of morbid curiousity.

"There you are son." A man wearing what looked like an apron said to him. Gaara watched as the man put a plate down on a table for him.

The red-headed shinobi wasn't sure what to make of any of this, until the words of his wish flashed through his mind. Was this ... was this what it was like to be normal?

"Eat up! It's a big day." The man said, ruffling Gaara's hair.

The casual touch startled Gaara more than anything else this morning. He took a deep breath, and caught a whiff of his breakfast. An omelet. Okay, that was normal enough. Though it was bigger than he was used to seeing. He reached for his chopsticks, and found they weren't there. He held up a rather odd metal weapon.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw two younger boys eating with the strange utensil and Gaara followed suit. He closed his eyes at the heavenly taste of the food. This ...this wasn't going to be so bad after all.

"Hurry up, slow poke." The older woman laughed as she wiped up the mess the twin boys seemed to be making as they tossed food at each other. "I can't wait. You're starting today."

Gaara swallowed his food, suddenly wary. "Starting?"

"That's right!" The man in the apron grinned broadly down at him. "You're a starter in the game today! Aren't you excited, son?"

Gaara nodded slowly, as this seemed to be the response the man was looking for. Inside, his mind was reeling. What game? Then all of a sudden his mouth dropped open. Both the man and woman had called him 'son'. They weren't speaking politely, they'd been speaking lilterally. He had _parents_ now?

"Close your mouth, Gary. We don't need to see what you're eating." The woman chided him. No, his _mother_ chided him.

o.o.o.o.o


	2. Language Barrier?

Gary watched the sand as it swirled around him. He grinned and tried to make it into something, something _cool_. Like a dragon maybe.

The sand started to waver and clump up together in front of him, but no matter how hard he thought 'dragon', it didn't seem to work. In fact, the harder he concentrated, the more the sand just …swirled.

"Gaara?" The male's voice called out, more than a little hesitant. "Are you …okay?"

"Idiot." The female's voice mocked him. "He's never been hurt before, of course he's not okay!"

Gary gave up, dejected that the sand wasn't doing what he wanted. He stopped trying to force his will and just let the sand do whatever it wanted. The moment that he stopped, the swirling mess calmed and a perfect sand sculpture of a dragon formed in front of him.

"Kankuro? What's he doing now?" The female asked the other guy.

Gary nodded. Kankuro. Now he had a name to go with the guy. He realized now that the boy had seemed familiar because he'd been watching part of an episode of Naruto just last night. Before he'd stormed off. Kankuro was a character in that anime.

"That looks …interesting." Kankuro said as he slowly approached Gary, although he thought it was his brother Gaara. "Is that a dragon?"

Gary shot him a disbelieving look. "Of course it's a dragon, don't you have eyes?" Except, it wasn't English coming out of his mouth. With a start, he realized that neither the guy nor the girl were speaking in English, but he could understand them perfectly. Was it because this body spoke Japanese? But HE didn't. Something else to ponder over.

The girl spoke up from the other side of him. "Well, it's just that we've never seen you make any sculptures before."

Kankuro scratched his chin absently, avoiding smearing his make-up from long practice. "Has too many toes to be a proper dragon. And where are the horns?"

"Shut up, idiot!" The girl hissed. "It's a beautiful dragon, Gaara." She said brightly with a false smile you might plaster on your face when faced with someone you're afraid might 'go off' at any moment.

Gary frowned and lost interest in the whole thing. Immediately the sand fell and started to slowly pour _upwards_, back into a gourd by his side.

"Hurry up and get ready." Kankuro told him. "We won't be safe until we reach Suna."

The blond girl muttered something and looked away.

"What was that, Temari?" The make-up dude asked.

Temari. Okay, at least they had names now. And if he wasn't mistaken, they were all siblings. Good. Gary wasn't too sure about any of this since Naruto wasn't one of his shows. Why couldn't he have been put into GUNDUM WING or something?

"I said, we can't be too sure it's safe in Suna either." Temari spat out angrily. "We failed in our mission, after all."

Failed? Oh right. Gary remembered that much at least. Naruto defeated Gaara and then Gaara went back home and turned good. The wuss. Maybe Gary should suggest they all NOT go home to Suna. Maybe they should hit the road.

As Temari and Kankuro debated their futures. Gary all of a sudden felt a bit queasy. Somewhere deep inside of him, something ….shifted. Moved. Not physically, not really, but it felt real enough. Oily, dirty, nauseating …something moved, something _alive_. Then, it was gone.

Gary blinked, swallowed hard and rubbed his stomach. _What in the world was that_?

"Hungry, Gaara?" The blond asked with that false sweetness as she saw him rub his stomach. "Here's some travel jerky." She said as she handed him some dark, dried stick.

Jerky? Jerky came in these plastic packs. This was …he bit into it. Wow. It wasn't very good and it was really kind of tough to chew. "Got any water?" He sputtered as he tried to swallow the mess.

Kankuro gave him a strange look and pointed toward Gary's things. Oh. Gary stooped down and pawed through the small pile beside him, but didn't see a canteen.

Temari leaned down without a word and pulled out an elongated pouch with an arm sling attached. She pulled open a stopper in one end of the pouch and handed it to him silently. Gary accepted the water gratefully. "Thanks."

As Gary slurped down the water, he missed the shocked expression on Temari's face as she heard his simple 'thanks'. She flashed a look at Kankuro, who looked just as stunned as she felt.

'Head injury?' She mouthed silently, jerking her head slightly in Gary's direction. Kankuro shrugged and just looked worried.

o.o.o.o.o

Breakfast had been delicious, if incredibly strange. And his mother, no Gary's mother, had insisted that he 'clean his plate'. Not used to doing servant chores, Gaara had merely shrugged. He didn't want to argue, if this was the way things were done around here. So he carried his plate into the kitchen and up to the sink.

He could feel the woman's eyes on him as he washed off his plate and set it aside to dry.

"Charles? Come see if Gary has a fever. He just washed his own plate without being asked." The woman called.

Gaara looked at her. She HAD asked, hadn't she? What else did 'clean your plate' mean? Then, with a start, he realized the woman wasn't speaking Japanese ...and neither was he!

Gary's father came in with a chuckle and put his hand over Gaara's forehead. This way they had of casually touching him both irritated and comforted him somehow. He twitched away from the man Charles, giving him a sour look.

Charles laughed. "He seems normal enough to me, Meara."

Normal. The word reverberated through Gaara's mind as he stood to the side and watched this family's morning routines. He'd made a wish to be 'normal'. Was this a dream, or was he getting his wish somehow?

Shukaku was not in this body. But he was. Was Gary in here with him? He searched his mind and borrowed body, but couldn't tell anything. There was no good chakra flow in this body either. Gaara winced at all the blockages. It was if this boy never used his internal chakra for anything.

"I need to meditate." He told Charles and Meara, inwardly shaking his head over such strange names.

"Whoa buddy!" The man laughed. "Since when do you meditate?"

Gaara shrugged, not sure how to answer that. He meditated often, mostly to help him gain control over Shukaku. Meditation was almost his form of sleep, a rest cycle that refreshed him as best he could without actually falling into the demon's clutches. Gary, though, didn't appear to meditate at all.

"I have a game today?" He tried, still unsure what kind of game it was. Apparently it worked though, both adults smiled and nodded.

"He's just nervous about starting today." The mother said. "Just don't forget we have some errands to run beforehand." She looked down at a time piece on her wrist. "I can give you about half and hour, is that enough time to meditate?"

No. Gaara thought, but looking at his, no …at Gary's parents …he realized that here they had the subtle power of control and not he. Gaara felt a bit lost at that. He nodded. "It'll have to do."

As he headed back toward the sleeping room, he heard the mother whisper. "I didn't think he'd get this nervous about the game today. Are you sure he didn't have a fever?"

A fever? No, Gaara didn't have a fever. He had the wrong body. And he wasn't sure how he felt about that. On the good side, there was no Shukaku. On the down side …well, he wasn't sure yet.

All in all though, so far …'normal' felt pretty darn weird.

o.o.o.o.o

**Next up: Shopping malls and 'the game' for Gaara. And for Gary? Shukaku.**

**This is a lot …fluffier than I've been writing. Be kind. Nope, if you don't like it just say what you don't like about it. This is way different from my other stories.**


	3. Inner Demons

Gaara had went back up to Gary's room, he couldn't bring himself to think of it as _his_. This change would be temporary. Maybe. Meditating though, just didn't come easily. Not this time. The chakra flow in this body was sluggish with blockages all over the place.

Meditation alone would not work. Gaara sneered as he got up from the floor and began to run through some extremely basic katas, the building blocks of all movement. Offensive, defensive, and balance. As he stretched and moved, he marveled at how this poor Gary could get around at all without even the basics in chakra management.

"Watcha doing?"

Gaara didn't pause, ignoring the boy.

"That looks sissy." The boy continued. It was one of the twins, but Gaara had no idea which one. He did, however, know what 'sissy' meant.

Quick as a snake, one fist struck out and stopped …right at the boy's nose. The kid grinned and laughed. "Cool!"

_Cool_? Gaara sneered. He was the bane of an entire ninja village. A living weapon of destruction and terror. He was definitely not cool. Except, Gaara sighed, he wasn't himself. He was Gary. The normal life guy.

"You looked like Lee or Naruto when you did that." The kid proclaimed, then turned and ran out the door. "Get ready or we'll all be late!"

"Wait! What did you say?" Gaara yelled, startled to his bones to hear those names mentioned in _this_ place.

The kid turned at the top of the stairs and gave him an odd look. "Late. It's what happens when we're not ready on time."

"No, about Lee and Naruto. How do you know them?" Gaara asked urgently. Perhaps he wasn't too far from Suna after all.

The boy laughed. "Don't be mad, Gary. You know we like that show even if you think Gaara's a wuss."

Stunned. Gaara just couldn't seem to think of anything to say. Show? _Wuss_?

Meara came around the corner then and smiled at him absently. "Go shower, Gary. We need to be leaving. Dave, go get your brother and make sure he's ready too."

The woman stopped and looked down at Gaara, who was still too stunned to move. "Gary? Darling, we need to get going. Go get in the shower."

"Yes, Meara." Gaara said, still in a daze.

"Meara? I'm 'mom' to you and don't you go get all grown up on me now, just because you're starting in the game today." She laughed, then ruffled his hair.

Gaara started to pull back, then stopped uncertain. Didn't 'normal' children get touched by their parents? "Yes, mmm…ma'am." He managed, unable to call her 'mom'.

o.O.o.O.o.O

Gary was having a tough time of it. He was walking with Gaara's siblings back to Suna. Walking. Slowly. And don't think that either Kankuro or Temari were happy about it either.

"I can carry you." The puppeteer said for about the millionth time.

Gary scowled, making both siblings speed up their steps a bit. _And therein lies the problem._ He couldn't access the abilities he knew Gaara to be capable of. The moving through the tree tops? Gary had only sprained an ankle trying. And he'd still been on the ground at the time, he hated to think of how hurt he'd been if he'd fallen!

So. They were walking home. Except it wasn't his home. Gary pouted. This wasn't going to be any fun if he couldn't do all the cool ninja stuff.

Suddenly, he felt nauseated again. There was a touch, somewhere deep in his mind that was …foreign. Wrong.

**Who are you?**

Gary stopped, signaling he needed a rest break. The other two stayed away from him, whispering. They were probably suspicious that something was wrong with their brother, but didn't know what.

**Who are you?**

Wait. That wasn't his imagination. Though, it wasn't really words either. More of a feeling of inquiry. A question, but not one posed aloud. Gary frowned. What did he know of Gaara anyway?

He'd been a villain. Cool. He'd gotten beaten by that loud-mouthed Naruto. Not cool. He'd gone good, or so his sister said. Gary had never watched much of the anime. Wait. Naruto had a demon inside of him …and didn't Gaara have one too?

Gary's eyes went wide as he clutched his stomach.

"Gaara?" Temari asked hesitantly. "Are you sick?" She sounded worried, really worried. Gary felt almost bad for not being the real Gaara. She really was kind of pretty. Whoa! Stop. Bad thoughts. While the girl may not be HIS sister, she was Gaara's! And for all intents and purposes, he WAS Gaara.

Gary looked away, wondering how long he'd be Gaara. Then for the first time, it occurred to him that Gaara might be in HIS body. With HIS family.

Gary ran for a nearby tree and threw up the hideous jerky, heaving his guts up at the thought of a demon-possessed monster in the same house as his family. Nightmare scenarios began to play out in his mind. Sand streaming from the dead mouths of his little brothers. His sister's body torn to shreds. His mom …

Suddenly Gary stood up straight, his eyes narrowing dangerously. This wasn't like him. He was the number one horror movie fan in his home town. He could quote them all like a pro. If he was imagining things, it would be a LOT worse than that.

Okay. Gaara had a demon. Gary didn't. Gaara was Gary and Gary was Gaara. Was the demon with the body, or the person?

Deep inside him, that weird 'something' moved again. That greasy sick feeling intensified. Gary laughed. He had a demon inside him!

"This is way cool!"

o.O.o.O.o.O

The shower hadn't been hard to figure out, it wasn't so different except for the strange markings. Apparently he could hear and understand Gary's native language, but he couldn't _read_ it. How terribly odd.

The vehicle they were currently riding in, though, was another matter entirely. It was crowded on the inside and Gaara winced as Karen and the twins screeched about something called 'shotgun'. It appeared they were fighting over the right to sit next to Gary's mom. He solved it by pushing them all out of the way and claiming the seat as his own.

"Why you?" Karen screeched again, and Gaara wondered if she had any other tone of voice. She was beyond annoying. At home, he'd have killed her. If she kept it up, he still might. Gary wouldn't miss her much when he got his body back, would he?

o.O.o.O.o.O

"Yo! Demon!" Gary called, ignoring the startled and horrified looks on both Temari and Kankuro.

There were no answering words, but the queasy movement stopped as if something was listening. Suddenly, images slammed into his brain. People screaming, blood, murder, mayhem.

Gary laughed. _**Stupid demon. I'm the king of horror movies. And all you're showing me is anime violence suitable for CARTOON NETWORK. This wouldn't cut it on HELLSING, much less NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.**_

"Gaara?" Kankuro called gently, like to a mental patient or a drug addict jonesing for a fix.

"Be right with ya." Gary called back, then focused back on the demon who'd gone still. He could sense the demon's confusion.

Images slammed into his mind once again, and once again he laughed. He took those images and twisted them into scenes from RESIDENT EVIL and EVIL DEAD II. Gary felt the demon's shock.

A new image screamed into his brain. One of Temari and Kankuro dismembered while he feasted on their flesh. So Gary took those images and twisted them into scenes from THE RING and TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE.

There was a moment where nothing happened, then Gary felt the demon retreat a bit. He wasn't sure, but he thought he heard a faint whimper.

_**Okay demon. Sure you're big here, but I got loads more and you're for general audiences. So back off. And tell me how to access some of these ninja tricks or I'll replay DEVIL'S REJECTS just for you.**_

It was a bluff. Mom had point blank refused to let him watch that movie. But the demon didn't know that. There was a pause, and then nothing.

Oh well. He'd beaten the demon, but it didn't look like he was going to get to Suna any faster. That sucked.

o.O.o.O.o.O

Gaara stared in gape-jawed amazement. An indoor shopping center. And not a fresh fruit stand or octopus stall in sight. But there were lots of people. LOTS of people.

Not wanting to get lost, Gaara stuck close to Meara. He couldn't bring himself to even THINK of her as 'mom'. Fear of getting lost in a crowd was new to him. Once he'd have merely noted her chakra signature and then found her no matter where she was. But …but no one here seemed to have any form of chakra use, much less a distinctive signature. All their chakra signs were repressed and dulled. It was maddening.

"Shoes for the twins first. Then a new shirt for you, Gary." Meara said with a teasing smile. "What's Becky's favorite color?"

Gaara, who had no idea what the woman was blathering about, shrugged as he watched the crowds. They were all really strangely dressed.

"Gary and Becky sitting in a tree." Karen said in a sing-song voice. "K-i-s-s-i-n-g. First comes …"

"That's enough, young lady." Meara scolded lightly as she led them over to a store with a lot of glass and a HUGE display of shoes. Gaara ignored Karen completely. Not being able to read this language, the spelled word meant nothing. "Now Gary, Becky must have a favorite color."

Gaara shrugged again. He couldn't tell her what he didn't know.

"First comes love, then comes marriage …then comes baby in a baby carriage!" Finished Karen triumphantly.

Gaara stared at her, irritated. Yep, she had to die. Soon. Wait …what …. "What about a baby carriage?" He asked, horrified.

Meara laughed and pushed Gaara into the store. "Never mind babies. You have to get through having your girlfriend over for movie night with the family first. No dating, you're too young."

Gaara nearly fell over. Dating? Girlfriend? What the hell was k-i-s-s-i-n-g supposed to mean?

o.O.o.O.o.O

**As always, review if you like and review if you didn't like. Reasons would be good too! LOL**


	4. Starting

Gaara watched as Meara fit the two twin boys for shoes. That was his mother and his younger brothers. Except, they weren't his, they were Gary's. Gaara felt a little ill to his stomach as he realized he had no idea if this transformation was meant to be permanent or temporary. And he didn't know which one he wanted it to be either.

"Out with Mommy?" A sly voice whispered from beside him.

Gaara automatically called for his sand armor and then said something nasty under his breath as he realized, once more, he was on his own. No sand and no build up of chakra in this body either. Only taijustsu remained, and he admitted if only to himself, this was an area in which he had not tried to excell. He'd always had his sand, it had never occurred to him that he'd ever find himself without use of his chakra, or the demon within him.

The voice laughed and someone tried to slap him on the back, Gaara managed to step aside just enough so that the other boy missed.

Startled, a young blond boy grinned as he recovered his balance before falling. Inwardly Gaara sneered at the uncoordination of those around him, forgetting that this body he inhabited wasn't much better.

"Bad words Gary? Don't let your _mommy_ hear you."

"Why?" Asked Gaara curiously.

The blond looked nonplussed for a moment. "Playing it cool are you? Way to go. Stuck with the family today?"

"Go away Trevor." Karen stuck her tongue out at the newcomer before retreating to the other side of her mother. Their mother. Shit. He needed to come to grips with this, Gaara thought to himself.

"Brat." Trevor intoned, careful not to let Gary's mother overhear his comment.

"Hmph." Gaara agreed readily. This girl, Gary's little sister, was definitely a brat. He looked over at the blond boy next to him and realized that this must be one of Gary's friends. Perhaps …perhaps he would have some information. "What does k-i-s-s-i-n-g spell?"

Startled the blond stared at him a moment before an unholy grin lit his face. "Oh shit, Gary. You didn't! Don't tell me you and Becky have already been …." He lowered his voice quite a bit … "kissing? Well, have you?"

"Oh." Disappointed, Gaara shrugged noncommittally. He'd hoped it had meant something bloodier. So far there had been no talk of strategy, fortifications, strengths, training, weakness, or anything else a ninja would recognize as 'normal'. Other than possibly having decent parents, this new life …was boring.

o.o.o.o.o

"I'm hungry!" Yelled Gary as he sat on a rock eating the worst food in the world. What he wouldn't give for a pizza, cheeseburger, or just one taco! He'd even eat some of his mother's 'healthy' stuff, it was better than this plain bread and beef jerky with water.

Kankuro's face twitched, but he didn't comment as he wolfed down his own food as if it actually tasted good.

"What are you eating?" Gary asked the boy suspiciously.

"Same as you." Kankuro snapped back, his eyes showing some anger. The puppeteer held up his hands to show he was eating the same fare as Gary was.

Gary looked over at Temari, but she was way ahead of him and already holding up her portion to show it was exactly the same as the other two.

"Look, Gaara." The other boy stood, stretching. "We've been going at a snail's pace all day. Care to pick it up?"

"Yah, yah, yah." Gary muttered. If he knew HOW to kick in the ninja speed he knew Gaara's body to be capable of, he'd have already done it! Not something he could admit to out loud though. They still thought he was Gaara. He didn't want to think about what they'd do if they found out it wasn't their brother in this body anymore.

The girl frowned and looked at Gary with actual worry in her expression. "Maybe he's too injured. I don't mean any disrespect, Gaara. But you were pretty beaten up when we came across you."

"Rescued you." Kankuro sighed, only to bite back an oath as the girl hit him with her giant fan.

"Not that you needed rescuing is what he meant." Temari rushed in to say.

Gary sighed. "Gar…er, I mean, that I lost the battle with Naruto. You can say it." He was sick of the fear they were showing him. They were so uneasy around him it was making him nervous and edgy. Not to mention it was lonely not having anyone to talk to while traveling. He couldn't even get the demon inside this body to respond to a few questions. Being feared was kinda …lonely.

Kankuro looked worried as he studied Gary's expression. "Suna intelligence did not report to us that Naruto had any where near that kind of strength."

Gary was about to tell them about Naruto's demon when he stopped, feeling distinctly dizzy. If he told these two about the fox demon NOW, how did it affect what was _supposed_ to happen in the anime? And if he changed Gaara's path to becoming a nice guy, what did that do to the storyline?

Thinking about these things hurt his head, so he stopped. He and Gaara had gotten switched or replaced or whatever. For all he knew, Gary might have to be Gaara forever now. So. The future wasn't written in stone and he wasn't going to try and stick with the canon story line. So screw the story line! It wasn't like he was a fan of Naruto or anything, he didn't even KNOW what really came next.

Oh why, _oh why_ hadn't he been put in GUNDAM WING or HELLSING? Then again, it could have been worse. He could have been dropped in one of his sister's favorite shows like FRUITS BASKET, though INUYASHA at least had demons he could fight.

"Well, well, well." A rough, husky voice called from the treetops. "Three little genin all out for a stroll. No jounin with ya? How fortunate."

Startled, Gary stood and looked up. He counted at least five presences on the branches surrounding them. But …but something deep within him pulsed, those pulses were faint but they hinted at others in the area. Five people he could see, with four strange 'pulses' of something Gary couldn't identify.

"Nine of them." Temari said as she unstrapped her fan.

Gary looked at the two who were Gaara's siblings. They didn't look afraid at all, in fact, they looked energized all of a sudden. Eager.

So why did he suddenly feel like crying for his mother? Movies were one thing, being faced with the reality of violence was another. He swallowed hard. **Demon?** He hissed into his mind. **I need help, can we make a deal?**

Deep inside, something sickening stirred.

o.o.o.o.o

Gaara stared at the field in puzzlement. After Trevor had nearly thrown himself on Gaara and wept for joy …and 'details' …the family had returned home. Gary's home that is, Gaara was still having trouble calling anything here 'his'.

Gary's mother had apologized for running out of time, but promised to get him a new shirt after the game. Apparently this mysterious Becky was coming over for family movie night and his mother thought he needed a new shirt. Gaara felt edgy. Was he supposed to kiss this girl? Somehow borrowing someone's girlfriend was a lot more serious than taking their parents. He could deal with Charles and Meara. Becky was another entity altogether.

But right now, he had more important worries. He was 'starting' and he didn't know what it was he was supposed to do.

It had been embarrassing enough when the young twin boys had had to help him get ready for the game. Meara had given him a very strange look when he'd had to bow to the inevitable and ask for help. The pile of clothes and padding was all too foreign to him.

Charles. Dad. Whatever …the man put his hand on Gary's shoulder and told him to "Go get 'em, Tiger!"

Gaara looked around at the group of boys and a few adults with questioning eyes. But no matter how he tried to talk Charles and Meara out of this, they'd only put it down to 'nerves'. Gaara sighed and tried to listen to the adults.

They were at least talking strategy, but what they were saying made no sense to him at all. Finally he raised his hand.

"Yes Gary?" A man who appeared to be in charge of the group asked.

"What is my job in all this?" He asked, pointing at the clipboard with all sorts of words and symbols he could not read.

The man laughed. "Just don't let the ball get by you. Do whatever you have to do, but don't let the ball in the net. You're our goal tender."

Was that all? Hmph.

Gaara stared at the black and white ball as the two 'teams' took to the field. One boy dressed like him, but on the other side of the field, went over to a big net. Gaara decided to mimic him and went to the opposite net. No one yelled at him, so he figured that he'd done _that_ right at least.

A whistle blew and all the boys converged on the ball. Except for the other boy in the net. Gaara stayed put as well. He was to guard the goal? Fine. Easy.

All of a sudden the wave of boys came towards him, with two boys passing the ball between them using only their feet. Tensing, Gaara crouched down, keeping his eye on the ball. The adult had said nothing about keeping the boys away from the net, only that ball.

With a speed that took him by surprise, the ball went airborn and Gaara had to do a spinning leap to the left to catch the ball.

Applause burst out from his side of the field and a warm bubble of acceptance filled him. This feeling of approval and warmth was new to him. Gaara blinked hard, then shrugged at the man making motions at him.

Apparently the man wanted the ball back. Gaara obliged.

Sighing, he waited for another opportunity to catch the ball, wanting to feel that warmth of approval once more. He waited, and waited, but he was getting bored as he watched the back and forth play.

Finally, though, the swarm of boys kicking the ball between them made another approach toward him. Instead of kicking the ball past him though, they were fighting and kicking all the way up to him.

Gaara waited until they were nearly on him and dove for the ball, in the process getting kicked in the ribs and shin. Well, at least he knew what some of the mysterious padding was for now. Angered, Gaara reached up and grabbed one of his opponent's hands and bent the knuckles back in the way nature had not intended for them to go.

Shrieking, the boy fell to the field.

Gaara stood with the ball, victorious. He grinned and awaiting for the approval, hearing nothing he looked up to see the strange looks from those around him.

Darn. He knew those looks. Fear. It was a look he knew well at Suna and other places, but not here. Not as Gary. Feeling his stomach sink, Gaara wondered what he had done wrong.

o.o.o.o.o

**Sorry for the wait, been working on other stories and life has been busy. No excuse, just reality. Hope you liked!**


	5. Learning Curve

Gaara fumed while he sat out the remainder of the game. He kept getting odd looks from everyone, though a few flashed him a few hand signs as well as some smiles. Perhaps to encourage him? Gaara wasn't sure, he'd never been on the receiving end of looks like that, much less smiles.

Finally the game ended. Gaara sighed as he stood up. He presumed his team to have won from the celebratory actions of those around him. Not to mention the dejected looks of the people on the other team.

The leader of his grouping pulled him aside and was apparently trying to give him a stern talking to. Gaara tuned him out. This man had nothing on Baki. Thinking of his fierce sensei sent a pang of homesickness through him. Not having ever felt that way before, Gaara wondered if this weaker body was getting sick.

When released, he walked over to Gary's parents. He simply could not think of them as 'mom' and 'dad', though a part of him wanted too.

"Gary! What were you thinking? You could have broken those boy's fingers." Meara said, running her hands through his hair, looking down into his eyes.

Suddenly, Gaara actually felt a bit remorseful under the baleful glare of this woman. He was smart enough, though, not to mention that it was only this body's lack of strength that had kept the boy's knuckles from crumbling. If he'd been in his own body, the outcome would have been far different.

Gaara paused and nearly smiled. Actually, if he'd been in his own body …none of this would have happened.

Charles wrapped an arm around his 'son' and indicated Meara should take the rest of the children to the car. Gaara sighed. Another lecture. Shit.

"Son. Dial it back a bit. But that man I was talking with earlier? He's the high school coach. He told me he liked what he saw in you. He's impressed with your focus and that great catch you made early on in the game. He even didn't mind your 'roughness', just told me to pass on to you to tone it down some. Don't go for the obvious fouls, okay?"

Gaara blinked in surprise. "He liked me?" He asked, wondering what the hell a High School coach was. After the Academy, there was no higher schooling available to those in ninja villages. Experience was the teacher from that point on. That and the genin team leader, of course.

Charles nodded, and again with the hair ruffling. _Was this a parent trait_? Gaara wondered as the man kept talking. "He sure did. I'm proud of you, just …not so violent okay?"

"Okay." Gaara said, wanting to please this man, although he really didn't know why he did. It's not like he cared or anything. This was Gary's father, not his own. An image of his own father's disapproving stares imposed itself in his mind, and Gaara shivered.

"Come on. Let's get home. Don't worry about your mother, let me do that." Charles said as the two of them walked back to the vehicle.

Gaara felt better, though he would be hard pressed to explain why. Still, it was nice to have someone in your life that supported you. He thought briefly of Kankuro and Temari and wondered about their attempts to be 'friendly' with him. He'd always pushed them away.

For the first time in his life, he wondered what he had missed out on by pushing his siblings away.

o.o.o.o.o

Gary watched with shock, and not a little awe as Temari took out three of the ninja all on her own. And they were HUGE guys too. She wielded that fan of hers like it was feather light and with a grace that defied description. And by 'took out' ...he meant killing them.

On the other side of the clearing, Kankuro's puppets were at work. And while they were not what Gary would call graceful or pretty, they made up for that with lethal effectiveness. Gary's stomach churned at the sight, sound, and SMELL of death. He tried not to gag openly as blood dripped out of one the puppets, the trapped man inside screaming in pain. Then silence.

Gary wasn't sure what was worse, the screaming of the trapped man…or when the guy stopped screaming.

Suddenly the three remaining brigands jumped toward him.

"Argh!" Gary yelped and leapt backwards, surprised to find himself suddenly off the ground and up in one of the trees balanced precariously on a branch. _How'd he do that_? He didn't have time to wonder though, as they followed him.

He watched in sick horror as three sharp blades of varying sizes descended toward his head. Gary heard a muffled shout and one of the men fell away as a ninja puppet attacked him. That still left two, and they were looking at him in a way Gary had not seen outside of the movies or television. His death was in their eyes. Able to do nothing, Gary whimpered and closed his eyes.

Without warning, sand exploded out of no where and shielded him from the blows. Angry shouts from the men got Gary to open his eyes. Blinking, he looked at the sand wall in stunned silence. Finally able to breathe again, he stepped back …and fell.

"Shit!" He screamed, he'd forgotten he'd been standing on a tree branch high up off the ground!

Fortunatly, the sand that protected him from the fighting also moved quickly to cushion his fall. Unused to such moves, he landed inelegantly, rolling to the ground in a heap of arms and legs.

"I told you he was injured from that fight with Naruto!" Temari screamed. "Look at him!"

Gary managed to raise his head as the blond girl's fan nearly decapitated one of the remaining victims. She turned on the last man, who was cowering and Gary couldn't help but feel sorry for the man.

It hurt to watch, and he glanced down as he wished with all his heart that the man didn't have to die.

"No, he's fine. See? A Sand Coffin!" Kankuro cackled happily. "Gaara just had to work the kinks out, that's all."

_Sand Coffin_?

Gary looked up again, then nearly threw up. His sand was completely surrounding the last man. Had he …had he …KILLED a person? Shit. Shit. Shit.

How could this have happened? It was one thing to see violence in the movies. It was another thing to smell a person empty their bladder as they died. Pity stirred within him as he felt like crying. Being a villain wasn't nearly as cool as he'd thought.

"LET ME OUTTA HERE!" The man screamed, pounding on the sand from the inside.

Gary sighed, falling onto the ground in a heap. He hadn't killed him! Oh thank heavens!

Temari and Kankuro wandered over to him as Gary sat up, looking around himself, hoping to just wake up and be back in his own bed. This wasn't fun anymore.

"Gaara?" Kankuro finally asked, after a long silence. "Aren't you going to kill him?"

Gary shook his head.

Temari scratched her head, thinking as Kankuro just looked at him, stunned. "But …but he attacked us!" The puppeteer said with disbelief dripping from every word.

Gaary nodded. He knew that. In the movies he'd be screaming for the brigand's death. But …but this was too real! This …this wasn't anime violence. He could HEAR that man screaming for his life. He could taste blood. Oh, wait, that was his own blood from the fall. Still, the point was the same.

Finally Gaara's sister knelt beside him. "He's no good as a prisoner. The man doesn't have any skills past that of a genin. He's obviously a bandit. Kill him and let's go home."

Gary stared at her and suddenly he didn't think she was as pretty anymore. Not that her appearance had changed or anything. But something inside him had changed.

Oh. Wait. Something inside him WAS moving. Shit. Gary clutched his stomach and tried to hang on as the demon within him rushed his mind, trying to take control. His last vision before passing out was of a human sized sand cocoon, and the sound of a man screaming.

o.o.o.o.o

Gaara stepped out of the shower and dressed in some more of Gary's strange clothing. None of it was made for fighting in. No reinforced leather, no padding outside of the things he'd worn for the game, no metal spikes, and no hidden weaponry.

But then, did he really need those things here? For the millionth time, he wondered if this was his new reality. Or would his normal life return?

Which did he want?

Charles and Meara were okay, and it did feel oddly nice to be fussed over. But it rankled heavily to be told what to do and when to do it. But after he'd gotten back to Gary's house today …his ….Meara had …she'd _tended_ to him. Fussed. Over _**him**_. He tried telling himself that the woman thought he was Gary, and if she knew the truth she wouldn't be as nurturing. But it hadn't stopped the strange feelings deep inside him.

Gaara looked down at his knee and looked at the criss-crossed bandages over the small cut. The bandages were nothing. The cut was nothing. But the attention. Gaara's heart beat a bit faster as he recalled his shock at how tenderly the woman had treated his small wound. He'd tried to tell her it was nothing, but she wouldn't listen.

The woman had sat him down and cleaned it up, putting medicine on it. Gaara blushed a bit at what Baki would have said to treating such a small wound. Still, her gentle touch had left him a bit breathless.

Unsure of the proper reaction, he'd stopped arguing and allowed the ministration.

Once more dressed after his shower, Gaara felt his stomach growl. He sniffed and smiled. He had NO idea what strange foods these people would be eating today, but he was hungry enough to try almost anything.

A strange ringing sound came from somewhere downstairs. Gaara frowned.

"I'll get it!" Karen screamed.

"Let Gary get it, it's for him." Meara called.

Gaara stood still. Get what? What were they talking about? He heard the sound of the door opening downstairs.

Then came a shrill scream from Karen that made every hair on his borrowed body stand on end.

"Gaaaaaaary! Your girrrrrrlfriend is here!"

o.o.o.o.o

**Well? **

**Sorry it took me a while to update. Though, this weekend I've updated nearly every story I've got that is still ongoing. I'm tired, but feel like I've accomplished something! LOL**


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